As the autumn breeze starts to pick up, do you feel a chill in your living room even when the heating is on? Draughts are one of the biggest unseen enemies of energy efficiency. A draughty home loses heat rapidly, forcing your boiler to work harder and burn more gas just to maintain a steady temperature. This wastes money and makes your home feel uncomfortable.
DIY Quick Wins The good news is that draught-proofing is one of the cheapest and most effective upgrades you can make. You don’t need a professional for many of these fixes:
- Windows: Self-adhesive foam strips can seal gaps in window frames for just a few pounds. These are available at any DIY store.
- Doors: A simple brush strip at the bottom of your front door, or a “sausage dog” draught excluder, can stop cold air from sweeping through the hallway.
- Keyholes and Letterboxes: These are essentially holes in your front door letting heat out. Metal covers or internal brushes are very cheap to install and make a surprising difference.
- Chimneys: If you have an open fireplace you don’t use, consider a chimney balloon to stop warm air escaping up the flue.
The Bigger Picture: Insulation While DIY draught-proofing helps, it can’t fix a home with empty wall cavities or a bare loft. If your home was built before the 1990s, you might have uninsulated cavity walls. The ECO4 scheme provides free cavity wall and loft insulation to eligible households. This can save you up to £400 a year on bills—far more than draught-proofing alone.
